Improving wave and tidal converter reliability
The second phase of an international collaborative research project designed to improve the reliability of wave and tidal energy converters is underway.
By reducing associated risks and enhancing reliability, the RiaSoR 2 project aims to encourage increased investment in the marine energy industry by both the public and private sector.
“Reliability testing is tough to do in the sea. RiaSoR 2 is about establishing a methodology and testing programme so we can gather data between device installation through to Mean Time To Failure (MTTF),” said Elaine Buck, EMEC’s technical manager.
Project partnership
Funded through the OceanERANET initiative and led by the Research Institute of Sweden (RISE), RiaSoR2 brings together the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, Alkit Communications, Synective Labs, CorPower Ocean, Waves4Power, Cruz Atcheson and OceanHarvesting.
By bringing together multiple partners, the project aims to offer a comprehensive suite of testing methodologies to wave and tidal developers that will enable a systematic approach to achieve optimal reliability and performance, while minimising cost and time-to-market.
Ms Buck pointed out that the instrumentation and condition monitoring methodology used in other more mature sectors such as automotive and aerospace will be adapted during the project to provide valuable insight into prototype design development.
Components for monitoring will be equipped with several sensors to collect required data and sea tests will be performed to reduce uncertainties.
Ultimately, the findings from the project will be disseminated to other WEC and TEC developers, and the wider industry.
By Anne-Marie Causer
Related Articles
MARINE CONSTRUCTION
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENT